Conflict or Harmony: Framing of Wildlife News in a Biodiversity Hotspot
Newspapers are avenues of the media that can influence public perceptions. Newspapers are especially important to engender support for wildlife protection because they reach populations who do not necessarily encounter wildlife frequently. Our research examined how newspaper media depict wildlife-re...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | Journalism and Media |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5172/5/1/1 |
| _version_ | 1797240441306873856 |
|---|---|
| author | Simplicious J. Gessa William Tayeebwa Vincent Muwanika Jessica M. Rothman |
| author_facet | Simplicious J. Gessa William Tayeebwa Vincent Muwanika Jessica M. Rothman |
| author_sort | Simplicious J. Gessa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Newspapers are avenues of the media that can influence public perceptions. Newspapers are especially important to engender support for wildlife protection because they reach populations who do not necessarily encounter wildlife frequently. Our research examined how newspaper media depict wildlife-related information in Uganda, a country which hosts high biodiversity. A content analysis was performed in two widely read daily newspapers, namely, the <i>New Vision</i> (<i>n</i> = 258) and <i>Daily Monitor</i> (<i>n</i> = 267), for news articles published in selected years between 2010 and 2019. The findings show a balance between positive and negative articles published in this period. <i>New Vision</i> had 51.5% of its articles on wildlife negatively framed while <i>Daily Monitor</i> had 50% of its articles positively framed. The articles that focused on the positive benefits from wildlife were the longest with 803 ± 525 words. One of the themes that featured prominently was the impact of developments on wildlife such as successful conservation practices, management interventions to save wildlife, and NGO conservation support to wildlife protection and population growth. Overall, newspaper articles addressed efforts that called for wildlife survival, but conflict still featured prominently. Measures to sensitize journalists, such as media engagement, wildlife tours, and integration with scientists, are needed to better implement conservation media. We also suggest that the media focus on the intrinsic benefits of biodiversity conservation, and that scientists be better integrated into wildlife news stories. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:07:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-da2cfd95b0f34d2f8a9752202dde7a97 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-5172 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:07:29Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journalism and Media |
| spelling | doaj.art-da2cfd95b0f34d2f8a9752202dde7a972024-03-27T13:49:49ZengMDPI AGJournalism and Media2673-51722023-12-015111310.3390/journalmedia5010001Conflict or Harmony: Framing of Wildlife News in a Biodiversity HotspotSimplicious J. Gessa0William Tayeebwa1Vincent Muwanika2Jessica M. Rothman3Uganda Tourism Board, Kampala 7211, UgandaDepartment of Journalism and Communication, Makerere University, Kampala 7062, UgandaDepartment of Environmental Management, Makerere University, Kampala 7062, UgandaDepartment of Anthropology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY 10065, USANewspapers are avenues of the media that can influence public perceptions. Newspapers are especially important to engender support for wildlife protection because they reach populations who do not necessarily encounter wildlife frequently. Our research examined how newspaper media depict wildlife-related information in Uganda, a country which hosts high biodiversity. A content analysis was performed in two widely read daily newspapers, namely, the <i>New Vision</i> (<i>n</i> = 258) and <i>Daily Monitor</i> (<i>n</i> = 267), for news articles published in selected years between 2010 and 2019. The findings show a balance between positive and negative articles published in this period. <i>New Vision</i> had 51.5% of its articles on wildlife negatively framed while <i>Daily Monitor</i> had 50% of its articles positively framed. The articles that focused on the positive benefits from wildlife were the longest with 803 ± 525 words. One of the themes that featured prominently was the impact of developments on wildlife such as successful conservation practices, management interventions to save wildlife, and NGO conservation support to wildlife protection and population growth. Overall, newspaper articles addressed efforts that called for wildlife survival, but conflict still featured prominently. Measures to sensitize journalists, such as media engagement, wildlife tours, and integration with scientists, are needed to better implement conservation media. We also suggest that the media focus on the intrinsic benefits of biodiversity conservation, and that scientists be better integrated into wildlife news stories.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5172/5/1/1media framingwildlife conservationcontent analysis |
| spellingShingle | Simplicious J. Gessa William Tayeebwa Vincent Muwanika Jessica M. Rothman Conflict or Harmony: Framing of Wildlife News in a Biodiversity Hotspot Journalism and Media media framing wildlife conservation content analysis |
| title | Conflict or Harmony: Framing of Wildlife News in a Biodiversity Hotspot |
| title_full | Conflict or Harmony: Framing of Wildlife News in a Biodiversity Hotspot |
| title_fullStr | Conflict or Harmony: Framing of Wildlife News in a Biodiversity Hotspot |
| title_full_unstemmed | Conflict or Harmony: Framing of Wildlife News in a Biodiversity Hotspot |
| title_short | Conflict or Harmony: Framing of Wildlife News in a Biodiversity Hotspot |
| title_sort | conflict or harmony framing of wildlife news in a biodiversity hotspot |
| topic | media framing wildlife conservation content analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5172/5/1/1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT simpliciousjgessa conflictorharmonyframingofwildlifenewsinabiodiversityhotspot AT williamtayeebwa conflictorharmonyframingofwildlifenewsinabiodiversityhotspot AT vincentmuwanika conflictorharmonyframingofwildlifenewsinabiodiversityhotspot AT jessicamrothman conflictorharmonyframingofwildlifenewsinabiodiversityhotspot |